As to my lifetime of being an artist.
My talent was first recognized in the first grade. I was pulled aside and put in classes for gifted kids. Kids that already played instruments or showed other talents beyond their age. I never drew stick figures. I started dating and saving my drawings in 1978. I was 6. My mom would take my siblings and I to the library when we were young. I checked out books on drawing. Books on how to draw animals, jets, cars, etc. I grew up in the sticks of NW Ohio, and to be honest I didn’t have a ton of friends… being the runty art nerd in a football crazy highschool. So I drew. And drew.
Maybe we aren’t born artists, musicians, or whatever… but I’ve had this creative thing inside me ever since I can remember. I think God gives us all gifts. Not everyone finds theirs. Not everyone can make a living from theirs. I honestly believe God gave me this spark. It’s why I also feel like it’s my job to put the work in to make me, my path, worthy of that gift.
Maybe I wasn’t born an artist… but it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do.
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